Interview with Author – Michael Cody

About Michael Cody:
Mr. Cody, now living in Washington, D.C., was born in Asheville, N.C. and raised in the small town of Macon, Ga.
Music and reading became a passion early in life and led to a lifetime affair with Jazz, Classical, R&B, Funk music and thousands of books.
Writer, musician, Urban cyclist, car-free enthusiast and foodie.
Where Power Resides, the first in a series of action/thriller novels explores the question of who really is in power, who pulls the strings in Washington and the Pentagon. Would our own government really spy on US citizens? Find out in this fast paced roller coaster read!
His first book, The Urban Bike, is a personal journey into the joys and challenges of a car-free lifestyle. Filled with tons of advice and wonderful caricature drawings, the book is a fun read even if you don’t own a bike! The follow up, Urban Bike Stories is a collection of real life people telling their own car-free stories.

What inspires you to write?
I have been a creative person my whole life. Years of playing and writing music, painting, stage lighting design and now writing was a natural progression. I love to tell stories! My character sketches are done the same as the books. As the need for a character comes up, I do a very basic sketch inside Scrivener.

Tell us about your writing process.
I am for the most part a seat of the pants writer when it comes to fiction. I sit down, I write, first chapter to last. From time to time I write something that dosn’t seem to fit where I am presently in a project but most of the time it ends up somewhere! For my non-fiction books The Urban Bike and Urban Bike Stories, I used a mind mapping tool on my Ipad. I also do the majority of my creative writing on the ipad with a bluetooth keyboard. I use Scrivener on my main computer to pull it all together, make notes, character sketches as needed and finally to format the finished story for publication.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I would not call it talking or interacting. But from time to time, my characters do or say things that surprise me…

What advice would you give other writers?
First, READ! As all the greats have always said, if you do not read, you do not have the tools to write. Research this wild west of Indie publishing. It is an ever changing place and you need to be aware of those things and how it affects you and your book sales! The third is a quote from Stephen King… Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
It was an easy decision. As the world of publishing begins to embrace the ebook, it opens the doors for the Indie author that before were fiercely guarded by the old school publishing houses.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
For now it’s still pretty much a no rules, wild wild west. In the future? who knows, I think the mechanics of publishing and the tools to do it will only get better, easier and cheaper.

What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers